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When Tory Wilson felt her Achilles tendon rupture during her floor pass in the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships at the Huntsman Center, the last thing on her mind was how she would pay for the medical costs a season-ending injury would bring.

Luckily for Wilson, the Utah senior should be covered. She is still a dependent on her parents' insurance, Utah is willing to pay for her medical coverages since the accident occurred during an athletic event and Utah has an insurance policy that pays for medical expenses for injuries suffered during her time as a Utah athlete for up to two years past her time of eligibility.

Other athletes haven't been so fortunate. A New York Times investigation in 2009 revealed a lack of established insurance coverage standards for schools that could and did leave some athletes footing the bill for their injuries.

For instance, a football player at Ohio University was left with $1,800 in medical bills after he was temporarily paralyzed during a workout, and a football player at the University of Wisconsin-Stout was left with $6,000 in medical bills after he broke his leg and his private insurance coverage reached its limit.

Wilson said she never really worried about her insurance, assuming like many others — sometimes falsely — that she would be covered.

"You hope that it won't be necessary," she said.

Granted, stories of athletes being left with hefty medical bills aren't common, but they were frequent enough that better medical coverage has been an emphasis in the recent reforms aimed at improving student-athlete welfare for collegiate student-athletes.

Last year, the Pac-12 announced its schools should offer four years worth of coverage to athletes once the eligibility has expired, beginning with the 2015-16 academic year. In addition, the Pac-12 and Big Ten are also guaranteeing four-year athletic scholarships, which means a scholarship won't be revoked if an athlete is suffers a career-ending injury.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said when reforms were announced, he understood insurance was a concern for student-athletes from his discussions with Pac-12 athletes.

"I believe these reforms will mean a great deal to student-athletes in the Pac-12," he said.

Utah athletic director Chris Hill said he supports the increased coverage, but acknowledges he's not going forward without some reservations.

"We are committed to doing it," he said. "But to be honest, the whole medical care discussion can get scary, especially with so many concussion cases coming out. How do you determine if an injury like that, or say a shoulder that starts bothering you years later, happened during your college career?"

Hill estimates his school spends about $1 million on health care annually.

The NCAA requires athletes to have catastrophic insurance, but it comes into play only when expenses reach $90,000. So athletes who don't have adequate coverage of their own or from their school could still be left with a hefty bill — an issue that Hill acknowledged is problematic.

"The bottom line is we are trying to do the best thing we can for people with injuries," he said. "We want to take care of them the best we can, but there is still a lot we don't know about how the medical care thing is going to affect schools."

Other local schools offer similar plans to the Utes, with Utah State covering medical costs for athletes for two years past eligibility, to the tune of an estimated $500,000 according to school officials.

Like many athletic directors, Hill's concern is increased costs with the coverage, but that argument holds no weight with advocates for college athletes, such as Ramogi Huma, the president of the College Athletes Players Association.

In his opinion, health care coverage has been subpar for athletes and is only now getting the attention it deserves.

"We are definitely in a transition period," he said. "The NCAA still doesn't have any rule mandates that players must be taken care of. Everything is optional, but even schools that say they have two years of coverage aren't bound to it. There is no guarantee."

Huma refers to a case last year in which Kain Colter, the former quarterback at Northwestern, had trouble getting an MRI covered by the school.

The experience helped spur Colter to become involved in the formation of the College Athletes Players Association, an organization that made headlines last year for its push for a labor union.

"The school eventually covered his costs, but all of these promises are verbal promises that can be broken," Huma said. "There are no guarantees."

There might be more guarantees in the future if concerns continue to grow.

In 2012, California passed a law requiring that schools who receive more than $10 million in sports media revenues (Cal, Stanford, USC and UCLA) must provide scholarships and medical costs to athletes.

"They fought that tooth and nail," Huma said. "But we are starting to get enough pressure on the system and enough scrutiny that people are really taking a look at basic things, such as health care, and wondering why we aren't doing more for athletes.Hopefully things are changing."

Human considers the Pac-12's backing of four years worth of coverage one of the best scenarios for college athletes.

"As long as schools uphold it," he added.

So far, Wilson's bills are apparently being taken care of with few issues. Her mother, Terry, said she is filing all the necessary paperwork with the insurance companies.

According to medical research publications, achilles tendon surgeries can cost $10,000 or more, depending on how extensive the surgery is. Wilson's case is more complicated because she also broke her other foot, which required surgery as well.

The costs have mounted, but so far haven't put a strain on the family, Terry Wilson said, thanks to the insurance policy she has and the university has.

"So far it seems to be seamless," she said. "I haven't looked lately, but I know all of this isn't cheap."

Knowing she is covered under her school's plan is relief to Wilson, who prefers to spend her time worrying about other things, such as walking. After spending more than eight weeks in a wheelchair, Wilson is able to bear some weight on her feet and is getting around on crutches.

She is still in physical therapy, but like athletes' health care plans, seems to be getting better.

"I still need the boots," she said. "But it is amazing to finally be able to stand."

Twitter: @lyawodraska —

Insurance overview

• The NCAA requires athletes to have personal insurance policies but does not require schools to offer any sort of insurance plan for athletes, although many do.

• Personal insurance policies may not cover injuries that occur when athletes are participating in school activities so there can be a gap in coverage up to a $90,000 deductible, when the NCAA's catastrophic insurance comes into play.

• The Pac-12 has instituted recommendations that its member schools cover athletes for four years past their eligibility for any injuries sustained during training or events when they were on scholarship.

• There is no mandate that prevents a school from retracting a scholarship if an athlete is hurt, although the Pac-12 has passed a reform guaranteeing athletes four-year scholarships.